Fireboats of Duluth

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The William A. McGonagle could pump 12,000 gallons per minute. Fireboat William A. McGonagle, circa 1910 -b.png
The William A. McGonagle could pump 12,000 gallons per minute.

During the early 20th century, large and powerful fireboats were operated in Duluth, Minnesota. [1] In 1920 both the Duluth, Mesaba & Northern Railway Company and the Duluth & Iron Range Railway Company operated fireboats in Duluth, the William A. McGonacle and the Halle . [2] [3] [4]

In 2016 it was reported that the Duluth and Superior Fire Department would be receiving a modern powerful fireboat through a FEMA Port Security Grant. [5] In recent years firefighters had been reduced to fighting fires using only an inflatable boat.

The Marine 19, a 32 feet (9.8 m) fireboat, manufactured by Lake Assault Boats, was delivered on May 8, 2019. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] She was built with the assistance of a FEMA port security grant.

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North Kingstown, Rhode Island began operating a new 37 feet (11 m) fireboat named Marine 5 in 2013. The vessel was partially paid for by a FEMA Port Security Grant. The North Kingstown Fire Department is part of the Narragansett Bay Marine Task Force.

Newport, Rhode Island acquired a new fireboat, named William H. Connerton, Jr. on April 23, 2018. Approximately seventy-five percent of the vessel's cost was covered by a FEMA Port Security Grant. $887,642.00 was paid for by FEMA, $267,500 was paid by the Newport Fire Department, but $200,000 of that was donated by Peter Kiernan III a local philanthropist.

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Marine 19 is a 32 feet (9.8 m) fireboat operated by the Duluth Fire Department. She was built by Lake Assault Boats for $597,000, with three quarters of her cost being paid by a FEMA Port Security grant. As is typical of fireboats built with the help of FEMA grants, she is a multirole vessel, capable of deploying measures to deal with toxic spills, or hostile attacks that require first responders to deploy in a vehicle with a sealed air supply. As with other FEMA fireboats she is equipped with modern sensors that work at night, in fog or smoke, features also useful when deployed on search and rescue.

The Duluth Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the City of Duluth, Minnesota.

References

  1. "Duluth and San Francisco fireboats". General Electric Review. 1909. pp. 420–421. Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2016-08-30.
  2. "Fireboat for the Duluth & Iron Range Railway Company". Electric Review. 1910. p. 858. Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2016-08-30. The Halle store is a twelve-story Fireboat for Duluth & Iron Range Railway Company. The fireboat, McGonagle, used by the Duluth, Mesaba & Northern Railway Company for the purpose of giving fire protection to its docks at Duluth, Minn., met ...
  3. "Duluth fire boats". The Bulletin (GE). 1909. p. 10. Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2016-08-30. The powerful fire boat Mc Gonagle, recently- completed for the Duluth, Missabe & Northern Railway, forms a notable addition to the growing fleet of fire boats which are equipped with Curtis steam turbine driven centrifugal...
  4. Frank Alexander King (1972). The Missabe Road: The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN   9780816640836. Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2016-08-29. The other two, the William A. McGonagle and the Torrent, were somewhat unusual in that they were equipped for firefighting.
  5. Kim Schneider (2016-07-05). "New Duluth-Superior fire boat to improve port security and safety". Duluth Tribune. Archived from the original on 2016-09-11. Retrieved 2016-08-30. A $447,750 grant to fund a new emergency response boat for the port of Duluth-Superior was approved by the Port Security Grant program this week.
  6. "Duluth Fire to Unveil First Ever All-hazard Vessel". City of Duluth, Minnesota . 2019-05-08. Archived from the original on 2019-05-18. Retrieved 2019-05-17. Department staff have begun training on the vessel which will continue through the end of May.
  7. Dave Strandberg (2019-05-14). "Fire Department Unveils All-Hazard Vessel". WDSM . Duluth. Archived from the original on 2019-05-18. Retrieved 2019-05-17. The craft was built at Lake Assault Boats in Superior and features thermal imaging night vision cameras, side scan sonar, radar, GPS navigation system and emergency medical equipment.
  8. Chris Allen (2019-05-09). "Duluth Fire to unveil first ever all-hazard vessel". KOOL1017 . Archived from the original on 2019-05-18. Retrieved 2019-05-17. The vessel was built locally by Lake Assault Boats LLC in Superior, Wisconsin, and features thermal-imaging night vision camera, side-scan sonar, radar, and GPS navigation system, pumps, water cannon, firefighting foam, emergency medical equipment and gear to contain and handle potential hazardous material environmental threats. It will be used for both fires and all types of water-related emergencies.
  9. Peter Passi (2018-10-16). "Duluth Fire Department now expects spring delivery of new boat". Duluth News Tribune . Archived from the original on 2019-05-18. Retrieved 2019-05-17. Duluth Fire Chief Dennis Edwards said the boat will be named Marine 19 to honor the 19 firefighters who have died in the line of duty since the department's inception.
  10. "Duluth takes keys to fire boat". Duluth News Tribune . 2019-05-08. Archived from the original on 2019-05-18. Retrieved 2019-05-17. Marine 19 was purchased with the help of a $447,750 Port Security FEMA grant, and a 25-percent match in the form of local funds totaling $149,250.